Cook&#39;s dresser, store-cupboard, and the like



J. RODWELL.

COOK'S DRESSER, STORE CUPBOARD, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYIB, 1920.

1 ,358,332. Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

UN I D A PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES RODWELL, 0F BUSHQEY, ENGLAND;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

Application filed May 18, 1920. Serial No. 382,271.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

e it known that 1, JAMES RoDwELL, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Bushey, in the county of Hertford, England, (whose post-oiiice address is Deva, Belmont Road, Bushey, in the county of Hertford, England have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cooks Dressers, Store-Cupboards, and the like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will an able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates especially to a cooks dresser in which the ordinary appliances, articles and materials used by a cook in following her calling are stored conveniently for use and readily accessible, the dresser comprising an upper part fitted with shelves and closed when not in use by a flap or door hinged at its lower end and adapted when open to form a table.

For ingredients such as spices, dried fruits, peel and the like a number of canisters are provided of such size as to be placed on the shelf or a shelf of the upper part of the dresser so that when the table flap is down the canisters are all exposed in a row in readiness for use as desired.

The dresser is designed to save labor and time but if the canisters have lids time would bespent in removing and replacing the lids, moreover the cook might neglect to replace a lid or lids or such lid or lids might not be properly fitted. Now :the object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the inconvenience of canisters with lids is avoided and at'the same time to insure that when not in use all 711118 canisters of the set on a shelf shall beef- ;Eectively closed as is desirable and even necessary if the contentsare'tobe preserved and kept free from dust.

For this purpose according to theinvention I provide a lid in the shape of a board or cover common to all of a set ofopentopped canisters or receptacles all of the same height located on a shelf or support and I so hinge such lid or cover at the rear as to close with its underside, which is or maybe suitably padded, all ther canistersior containers when the lid or cover is horizontal, means being provided to hold said lid 01' cover open when raised about its the inward position hinges in order to enable container to be removed, the said means belng automatically released by the closing of the table flap so that when the cook has completed her work at the dresser the mere operation of closing the table flap insures that all the canisters or receptacles on the shelf areproperly covered and this without any manipulation of individual lids or caps.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows 1n' front elevation with the table flap down 1n position for use, a cooks dresser of :he klnd referred to embodying the inven- 1011. Fig. 2 shows the dresser partly in eleva- -t1on and partly in vertical section.

Fig. 3 1s a plan of a flour bin with which the dresser is fitted.

Figs. 4 and 5 show in vertical section on the line A A of Fig. 5, and in plan, respectlyely the means for supporting the lower pivot pin of the flour bin.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section and Fig. 7 a front elevation illustrating the button catch for holding the table flap of the dresser in its raised position.

The dresser illustrated comprises a lower portion, having end drawers a and a front cupboard closed by doors 6, and an upper portion having a cupboard closed by doors 0, below which is cl and adapted to is not in use, by

he closed when the dresser a table flap '6. The space between the shelves (Z is fitted with a number ofdrawers f and on the upper shelf are arranged a set of open-topped canisters g of which is limited by a stop bar h and a board i that constitutes a common lid for'all the canisters g is hinged at the rear to a bar j at the back of the dresser.

In e: eenst uct eetrew the lidv vor cover 2' extends from one side of the dresser to the other and the hinge thereof is -so.-po-

sitioned that when the lid is horizontal the underside thereof which is provided with a layer of felt is orthe like, rests on and properly closesall the canistersthat-may be on the shelf. At each side of the dresser in front of the hinged lid :71 islaverticalcatch lever Zmounted to turnon a pivot-screw m located about midway of the length of the lever. The lever is pressed by a spring a so that its upper end constantly tends to more inwa d y w rd h lid the lower any canister or A a space fitted with shelves v end consequently fruits, peel, cereals and the tending to move outwardly. The pivots m of the catch lever are located so near the front edge of the dresser sides that when the levers are not vertical the lower parts thereof project beyond the dresser front see Fig. 2, so that when the table flap 6 is closed the levers Z are kept thereby in vertical position in which position they are clear of the front edge of the hinged lid 2' which consequently rests .on and closes the canisters. When the table flap e is opened however the levers Z under the influence of their springs a assume an inclined position, their upper limbs bear ing against the front edge of the hinged lid 2' and when the lid is raised the levers are turned thereby into a more or less ver tical position until the upper ends of the levers snap under the front edge of the hinged lid or cover and hold the'same open, as shown in Fig. 2, until the levers are released by the table flap 6 being again closed. The front edge of the lid 11 has fixed to it a wooden strip 0, Fig. 6. that extends the whole length of the lid between the levers Z and gives a finished appearance to the front edge of the lid. When raised the table flap 6 may be held closed by a turn button 7) Figs. 1, 6 and 7, and with advantage the spindle of the button may have secured to its inner end a lever 9 adapted, when the turn button is in vertical locking position, to press down on a pin 4" projecting from the front edge of the lid and thereby hold the lid firmly down on the canisters. When the button is in its horizontal flap-releasing position the lever 5 is clear of the pin 1 so that the lid '5 is then free to be raised from the canisters. I

' Although ingredients such asspices, dried like can be stored in the canisters or the like, if flour is stored in a receptacle that has to be removed from a shelf for example every time flour is required there is an appreciable amount of labor and time involved to avoid which the cook may simply scoop up from time to time the amount of flour she requires from the receptacle without removing it from the shelf with the result that flour falls about, imparts a general air 'of untidiness and necessitates frequent cleaning if the surroundings are to be kept hygienic and free from mice or vermin. To obviate these disadvantages a flour bin or receptacle 8 is so mounted below the lower shelf d or bracket and over the cooks work table 6 that it can be swung from an outof-the-way position under the shelf or bracket into a position convenient for withdrawal of the flour required while when done with it can with equal facility be moved back into its O11"tO'f-l3ll6-W2ty position. With advantage the lid of the flour receptacle is so located that it cannot be opened unless flap or table a is open and .tirely removed and the receptacle is clear of the shelf or bracket and over the table so that any flour spilled while being taken from the receptacle or while the receptacle is being charged with flour, falls upon the table from which it can The lid may in some hinged to the body of the flour receptacle that it must be closed before the receptacle can be moved into its out-of-the-way position so that the receptacle can never be put away with the lid open.

In the example illustrated the flour bin or receptacle 3 is formed of sheet tin or the like of oblong shape in plan except that oneend is rounded, see Fig. 3, and the depth of the receptacle is such as to fit easily between the shelf at the rear of the hinged flap or table and the shelf (Z immediately above it. Near the rounded end of the receptacle s at the top and bottom are upwardly and downwardly projecting pivot pins t that work in eyes or sockets a fixed therefor in the two shelves between which the receptacle is arrangec. To facilitate easy swinging of the receptacle about such pivot pins the bottom and top walls of the receptacle are clear of the shelves. The end of the receptacle remote from the pivots t is fitted with a handle a; above which is hinged a lid an that extends the full width of the receptacle and which is hinged at its upper end so that when the lid isoclosed it is inclined as shown. It will be understood that the flour bin or receptacle-s cannot be moved into position for use, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 until the hinged be readily wiped. cases be moreover so liap or table 6 cannot be closed until the flour bin or receptacle 8 is moved into its storage position shownin Fig. 31

To enable the flour receptacle to be enreplaced without the to release it, the socket u for the lower pivot pin 25 is carried on the free end of a wooden bar the other end of which is. hinged to a strip of wood ai -fixed to a base block y in which a slot or recess is cut for the hinged bar m. Below the bar 00 use of tools in order a wedge e is removably fitted in the said slot or recess and the arrangement is such that when the-wedge is pressed home, as shown in Fig. 4, the pivot pin socket is in proper position for engagement by the pivot pin but by withdrawing the wedge the bar 00 drops down about its hinge and the flour bin 8 can be withdrawn, the lower pivot passing along a slot 2 out in the base block y.

Although described with reference to a cooks dresser it will be understood that the invention is not limited to such an application as in any store cupboard fitted with a shelf or shelves adapted to support a number of open topped containers there that the hinged may be arranged according to the invention a hinged lid or cover adapted to close all the containers and associated with means that hold the lid or cover open when once opened until the cupboard door is shut when such means are automatically actuated to release the lid or cover.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a dresser, a cupboard provided with a support for a row of open-topped containers, a hinged cover common to all the said containers, a hinged door for closing the cupboard, and means for holding the said cover in a raised position arranged in the path of the cupboard door and operating automatically to release the said cover when the cupboard door is closed and thereby permit it to close all the said containers.

2. In a dresser, a cupboard provided with shelves, a hinged door for closing the cupboard, a receptacle having a lid at one end portion of its top, and having pins at its top and bottom which project from the middle part of its other end portion and which pivot the receptacle between two of the shelves, the said lid and subjacent portion of the receptacle being adapted to be turned pivotally to project from between the shelves when the door is opened, the other end portion of thereceptacle remaining constantly between the shelves.

3. A oooks dresser, cupboard or the like fitted with a shelf or shelves adapted to support a number of open-topped containers over which is arranged a hinged lid or cover adapted to close all the containers and asso ciated with means that hold the lid or cover open when once opened until the cupboard door is shut when such means are automatically actuated to release substantially as described. 7 4. In a cooks dresser, store cupboard or the like, having a hinged flap that when open forms a table and when raised closes the dresser upper part, store cupboard or the like, a lid, constituted by a board or cover, common to all of a set of open-topped canisters or receptacles all of the same height located on a shelf or support, the said common lid being so hinged at the rear as to close with its underside all the canisters or containers when the lid is horizontal, the lid when raised into open position about its hinges being held raised by means that are automatically released by the closing of the table flap so that the simple operation of closing the table flap insures that all the canisters or receptacles of the set are properly covered without any manipulation of individual lids or caps.

5. An arrangement according to claim 4 wherein the hinged lid or cover extends from one side of the dresser or cupboard to the other and at each side of the dresser or cupboard there is pivoted, in front of the hinged lid, a catch lever associated with a spring that tends to move one end of the lever inwardly so that it constitutes a stop to hold the lid raised and the other end of the lever so far outwardly that the hinged table flap bears against it and moves it inwardly against the action of its spring as such flap is raised into its closed position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES RODWVELL. Witnesses:

W. H. LINroRn, W. H. SIMMs.

the lid or cover, 

